‘BABEȘ-BOLYAI’ UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF LETTERS
PH.D. THESIS – SUMMARY
NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL DISCOURSE.
THE ROMANIAN EDITORIAL AT TIMES OF CONFLICT
SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR
PROF. DR. MIHAI M. ZDRENGHEA
PH. D. CANDIDATE
MUREȘAN (căs.PORUȚIU) EMANUELACRISTINA
CLUJ-NAPOCA
2013
Key words and expressions: opinion discourse, newspaper editorial discourse, Romanian press,
times of conflict, pragmatics, critical discourse analysis, persuasion, ideology, rhetorical
structure, linguistic choices, intensifying strategies.
Context of the study
Newspapers still matter.
People of all proffesions still read them on a regular basis. There is a great variety of news
sources nowadays: newspapers and magazines in print press, radio, television and Internet in
electronic media; neither the advent of television, nor the Internet led to the ’death’ of the
newspaper.
There are voices which regard the newspaper as ’a thing of the past’. It is, indeed, one of
the oldest forms of mass media, which does not mean that it needs replacement. Due to the
recent economic recession, the media business started to stagger. A large number of newspaper
companies have been forced either to close their doors, or to modernize by keeping up with the
technological developments. This has meant providing their readers with a modern, online
version of the traditional print form.
Still, newspapers are relevant and essential to society. They give us news and views. In
print or online version, they cannot be easily replaced by another ’product’, as complex as this
one. As the term ’newspaper’ suggests, the content of any newspaper consists of the news of the
day, but also of analysis and comment on this news. However, surprisingly enough, a large part
of the newspapers nowadays contain many other items, other than those previously mentioned,
such as advertising, TV listings, sport and entertainment.
There is a wide variety of texts we come across daily and many different ways to
approach them. For the present study we have chosen a particular type of text to analyze, the
editorial, whose function is not to inform but to influence public opinion to share the same views
as its author’s. Broadly speaking, a clear distiction is drawn in journalism between news writing
or reporting and opinion writing. While the first category has to mirror the reality, ’just the facts’,
the editorials are restricted to expressing opinion, either of the editorial writer’s or of the
newspaper’s editorial board (the governing body of the newspaper).
Newspaper editorial articles belong to the large class of ’opinion discourse’, largely
considered a newspaper sub-genre nowadays (van Dijk, 1995). The systematic and explicit study
of editorials has been of interest in the past years because they reflect not personal, but mainly
institutional opinions, in line with the editorial policy and ideology of the newspaper.
Consequently, readers who need explicit guidance on how to approach events and participants
are expected to turn towards editorials rather than towards news reports. Therefore, it is not
surprising that they are referred to as ’leaders’ or ’leading articles’.
It is well known that the language of the press is never neutral (Fowler, 1991) and that
articles within a newspaper’s pages are constructed versions of reality from a certain viewpoint
based on the editorial line of the publication and its political orientation. At times of social
conflict and political tension, it is stirring to examine the different ways in which newspapers
represent the same issues and participants involved, which is part of our thesis’ subject. The role
of the journalists in general and of editorial writers in particular at times of unrest is significant.
Consciously or unconsciously, journalists promote conflicts to a certain extent because any
conflict within the political or social sector takes place in the media as well.
Conflict journalism tends to be dichotomized considering the fact that any opposition
generally involves two sides: ’Our’ side which is always seen as the ’good’ one and ’Their’ side
which is regarded as ’bad’ or ’evil’. Media work with such models of conflict and such
oppositions are overt in opinion articles.
Whereas in the news reports journalists attempt to be as objective as possible, the
newspapers’ editorials in their position of opinion articles represent the official voice of the
publication. Therefore, they are persuasive and biased types of writing which encode the
respective newspaper’s ideology. Editorials can be written on a variety of subjects and reality
can be represented in a number of various ways, thus the editorial writer chooses the topic and
the perspective from which to view it in such a way that it serves the institutional (ideological)
interests.
We need to look both into and beyond the text because under such circumstances a wide
range of exterior factors influence editorial production. Broadly speaking, the same arguments
are likely to operate on different levels for each reader. But in the particular case of social
conflicts, even though people are not individually involved, they are definitely collectively part
of them.
Research objectives
Our study examines the distinct ways in which the conflicts at the beginning of 2012 are
represented in the editorial discourse of three most representative Romanian broadsheet
publications, namely in Adevărul, Evenimentul Zilei and Jurnalul Național. Therefore, our study
endeavours to:
examine the editorial discourse of three quality newspapers published within the
same cultural environment, but with distinct editorial policies and ideologies;
investigate the manner in which the same conflict and main participants are
approached and represented in editorial (opinion) discourse;
reveal the similarities as well as the differences in standpoints in the newspapers
under study, also underlining the specific grounds from which they arise;
investigate the specific utilisation of structure and language strategies each of the
publication under study employ in order to promote a specific viewpoint;
identify whether
editorials, as samples of highly-opinionated and persuasive
types of articles, appeal more to judgement or emotions during times of tension
and conflict.
Comparison between newspaper editorials as the official voices of various media institutions can
unveil the importance each publication gives to a matter at a particular time by approaching it
from a particular ideological angle. Therefore, we will consider:
first of all, the rhetorical structure of this type of opinion articles
secondly, the ways in which editorial writers attempt to guide the reading process
towards a desired interpretation by appealing to a series of choices
and lastly, the intensifying structural strategies such as the opening and closing
segments.
The importance of the study
As compared to other media genres, the editorial discourse has been understudied despite its
importance and unique position within a newspaper. Moreover, it displays a specific rhetoric and
the way in which persuasion is conceived and embodied within the newspaper editorial discourse
is of wide interest.
The discourse analysis of Romanian editorials represents a region of discourse analysis
which has not been fully explored. In fact, given the limited studies on newspaper editorials in
many countries (despite their significance among public genres) this category is often referred to
as the ’Cinderella’ genre. Analysing a number of 28 editorials selected from three national
dailies, we were able to reach relevant conclusions regarding their characteristics at times of
social conflict and political tension and shed more light on this rather neglected genre. Most of
the studies conducted on editorials focus on typology or functions as compared to other
journalistic text-types. Our main area of research is the rhetorical structure and linguistic
strategies editorial writers employ in order to organize, develop and present their texts, or to put
it broadly, how Romanian editorial writers conceive a newspaper editorial to impact the readers.
Another key aspect is related to the comparative examination of editorials selected from
three broadsheet newspapers during times of social conflict and political tension. Special
attention is paid to the representation of the same conflict and main participants within the same
socio-political and cultural setting, to the ways in which various strategies are employed to gain
the maximum effect, which are likely to represent a further distinct aspect of this research.
Considering the importance editorials play in shaping (even changing) public opinion, we
hope that our study will contribute to enriching the quality of understanding when reading
newspaper editorials by shedding more light on their specific, persuasive rhetoric. It is nothing
but a modest effort.
Scope and methodology
The discourse analysis accomplished in the current thesis involves editorials culled from three
most representative national dailies: Adevărul, Evenimentul Zilei and Jurnalul Național. The
coverage and selection of editorials was conducted both in the public library and on the Internet.
We compared the electronic and print versions to make sure that the online newspapers contain
the original content of the editorials from the daily printed form beginning with January 9th 2012
(when the conflict outbroke in the press) to the end of the month. We compared the linguistic
approach of the conflict and the participants involved in terms of rhetorical structure, choices
which manipulate interpretation as well as intensifying structural strategies, all of which appear
to function on rhetorical grounds.
It is stirring to observe the discrepancy in viewpoint and approach of the same event in
the press within the same country. This is the reason why we selected the newspapers not only
based on their popularity, but on their ideological orientation and editorial policy. Such an
approach is likely to prove the way in which the same objective fact can be inevitably judged
from various subjective perspectives. We consider that the number of editorials (28) analysed in
this paper is relevant enough for our purpose since it allows a relatively thorough analysis of
newspaper editorial discourse at times of conflict.
In our research we have appealed to an interdisciplinary approach as we have combined
elements and theories from fields such as rhetoric and linguistics (rhetoric, discourse and critical
discourse analysis, semantics, pragmatics). Moreover, such an approach proves that language
becomes a tool in the hands of editorial writers’ who conceive their discourse in such a way that
it serves institutional purpose. Thus, the power of words in the public space is undeniable.
Our intention is not at all to distinguish between ’good’ or ’bad’ language employed in
newspaper editorial discourse, or between better or worse publications, but to unveil the
persuasive strategies utilized by journalists at times of conflict to gain readers’ approval and thus
manipulate them to respond in certain ways to the events and the participants involved. Our
focus is also on the disparity in viewpoints when portraying the sides in a conflict and the
existence of a similar (apparently universal) framework built on dichotomies when covering it.
Editorials represent just another example of how means justify the ends in language.
An outline of the study
The current thesis is organized in eight chapters (inclusive of the introduction and conclusion), a
bibliography and an annexes unit. The last unit contains the integral form of the editorials
selected from the online editions of the Romanian newspapers under study.
The INTRODUCTION describes the general context of studying newspaper editorial
discourse, introduces the theoretical assumptions our research rely on and states its main
objectives. Moreover, the significance of the study is highlighted. The scope and methodology
employed in conducting such a research are broadly outlined. Last but not least, this chapter also
provides a synopsis of the thesis.
Chapter 1: APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE STUDY AND MEDIA DISCOURSE is an
illustration of different approaches to discourse analysis and to media discourse especially, with
a focus on critical language study and on the connection between media and the concept
of ’power’. The relationship between pragmatics and critical discourse analysis is also taken into
discussion. In the final part of the chapter, a brief presentation of the most prominent studies
conducted on editorials in the past years is provided. Without such details, our further study may
seem incoherent or incomplete.
Chapter 2: THE POWER OF THE PRINT MEDIA provides a brief overview on the
development of mass-media mainly considering the historical background of the earliest
newspapers. The main focus is on the Romanian print press, on its beginnings and further
evolution in the last two decades; a description of the three chosen dailies in terms of history,
ownership, control and characteristics is also included.
Chapter 3: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF EDITORIAL WRITING focuses on essential
aspects such as: definition of the term, a brief history of the editorial as a representative
newspaper article, its purposes and forms, basic principles and practices. All in all, the chapter
attempts to draw together the main aspects regarding editorials and editorial writers.
Chapter 4: OPINION DISCOURSE AT TIMES OF CONFLICT introduces the details of
the conflict which broke out at the beginning of 2012 in Romania and the research problem
statement. During times of conflict editorials aim more than ever to manipulate readers to
respond in a particular way to the ongoing events and to the participants involved. They prove to
be intentionally-driven journalistic products which carry ideological significance. The relevance
of the study and its scope are also highlighted.
Chapter 5: METHODOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK presents, as the
title suggests, the methodology and the theoretical framework of our research. Firstly, we take
into discussion two of the most significant linguistic methods of analysis: qualitative and
quantitative analysis, and consider that a qualitative, comparative approach of editorial discourse
will best serve our purpose. Then, the three main parameters of the framework (the rhetorical
structure of editorials, aspects of manipulating interpretation and intensifying structural strategies)
are introduced and briefly described for a better understanding of the following chapters.
Chapter 6: RHETORICAL STRUCTURE OF EDITORIAL DISCOURSE highlights the
fact that there are a number of factors which influence the production of a newspaper editorial.
Their rhetorical structure is shaped by constraints and requirement imposed not only by the genre,
but also by the orientation of the newspaper. Professional, institutional and sometimes personal
constraints make the editorial writers’ job a difficult one and the analysis of their work
challenging. The structure proposed for the editorial discourse consists of five rhetorical levels,
namely: Headline, Addressing the Issue, Background Information, Argumentation of the
Addressed Issue (including Evaluation and Evidence), and Articulating a Position or Solution.
These levels are coherently linked to form a meaningful and rhetorical whole, though certain
elements of the proposed structure may not always be present in every editorial.
Chapter 7: ASPECTS OF MANIPULATING INTERPRETATION starts from the
hypothesis that every linguistic choice is strategic especially in the case of public opinion
discourse because they can influence readers towards an intended interpretation. There are a
series of choices editorial writers employ such as: choices about the representation of actions,
actors and events; choices about the representation of knowledge status; choices about naming
and wording; choices about incorporating and representing other voices. At times of tension or
conflict, the language in editorials becomes an interesting object of study and it is stirring to
examine how the same event or people can be represented or labeled totally different, how
certain attitudes and viewpoints are constructed and foregrounded with the clear purpose of
influencing people to embrace the same stance.
Chapter 8: INTENSIFYING STRUCTURAL STRATEGIES: THE OPENING AND
CLOSING SEGMENTS offers a detailed approach of the role the propositions clustered in the
first and last paragraphs play in amplifying a particular viewpoint. Even though they may appear
redundant from an informative point of view or even irrelevant, they are employed with the clear
purpose of producing powerful persuasive effects by enforcing the text’s central message.
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSIONS reviews the progress of our
research and highlights the most relevant findings regarding the editorial discourse in the
Romanian broadsheet publications at times of civil unrest and political tension.
A list with the complete BIBLIOGRAPHY (including the Internet resources) is provided
at the end of the thesis, followed by an annexes unit which comprises the integral editorial texts
considered for the present study. The last unit, APPENDICES, is divided into three parts, namely:
Appendix A (editorials culled from Adevărul), Appendix B (editorials culled from Evenimentul
Zilei), Appendix C (editorials culled from Jurnalul Național).
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